UTV and ROMP to produce four films with a budget Rs 280 crore

After the success of ‘Rang De Basanti’, UTV and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Productions have joined hands to produce four films with a total outlay of Rs 280 crore. The movies, ‘Dilli-6’ and a trilogy ‘Paanch Kaurav’ (5-K), will be directed by Mehra himself. The 5-K trilogy is co-written by Mehra and Hollywood scriptwriter Syd Field.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ronnie Screvwala, CEO, UTV, said, “We are all sitting at a very exciting time in motion pictures history in India, thanks largely to the changing, maturing and demanding tastes of film audiences. Today, the challenge is in making strong Indian themes but for a pan-Indian and global audience. Rakeysh’s sensibilities in this area, with help from a mature hand like Syd in structured screenplay, coupled with our joint vision of taking Indian cinema to a new level of creativity and communication and to a growing diaspora for Indian content, will make this partnership over the next few years very rewarding and challenging.”

‘Paanch Kaurav’ (5-K) is supposedly the first ever pre-announced and scripted trilogy for India. Mehra and Rensil D’Silva have already penned the first of series. The production house claims that this is the first time in the country where films will be made for ‘movie audiences’, rather than for a country or region-specific one. The trilogy would have a special focus on ancillary revenues that include retail, merchandising, console and mobile Gaming, using UTV’s gaming and animation strengths.

“Like the West, Indian cinema is today focusing on garnering world class expertise on the film script which is the real hero, resulting in world class production, with universal sensibilities that appeal to a global audience. With our current co-productions, it is our desire to bring cinema for the global audience and our endeavour will be to Indianise entertainment,” said Mehra.

The official communiqué also stated that UTV and ROMP are in talks with Hollywood studios like Disney, Fox and Sony for global partnerships on this slate.